What Moves the Dead (Review)

Information:

• Author: T. Kingfisher
• Genre: Horror
• Page Count: 158
• Year Published: 2022

Read This If You Like:

• Retellings
• The Fall of the House of Usher (or any other Poe works)
• Novellas/short books
• Haunted Houses
• Horror Stories
• Creepy Hares
• Mushrooms
• Historical Settings

Summary:

It’s 1890, in the remote region of Ruravia. The retired soldier Alex Easton has just been asked to visit the House of Usher under the command of their childhood friend, Rodrick, in order to care for his dying sister, Madeline. Easton reluctantly accepts, and the visit starts normally- except for the abnormal amounts of strange mushrooms and creepy hares that keep staring at them. But within a few days, things become stranger as Rodrick begins to grow paranoid, and Madeline’s illness proves to be stranger than anyone originally thought it would be. Soon, it becomes clear that the House of Usher is holding a secret- one that may consume everyone inside. 

Review/Opinions:

In today’s current literature landscape, retellings of classic novels or fairytales are certainly common. But Edgar Allan Poe’s works are some of the least commonly material for inspiration for contemporary novels, which is part of the reason T. Kingfisher’s horror novella is so unique. This book caught my attention due to the weird cover, and it was different from what I normally read, but in just the short length of 158 pages, this author creates one of the most atmospheric and engaging horror stories that I’ve read. While it does follow the basic structure of The Fall of the House of Usher, one of Poe’s most famous stories, I read What Moves the Dead without reading the inspiration before, and this novella is easy to understand even if you’ve never read the original story.

While the original Fall of the House of Usher follows an unnamed narrator, T. Kingfisher instead shifts the focus to the original character of Alex Easton, who was a fun protagonist to read through their narrative voice, being entertaining and also sarcastic. If you have read Edgar Allan Poe’s original work, Rodrick and Madeline have almost the same personality as in the original story, but they also are developed characters that make you want to see what happens to them. There’s also some other good original characters, such as Denton, the doctor caring for Madeline (Easton has a pretty anti-American stance at the beginning of the story, so they don’t have the best perception of Denton at first, but their relationship becomes better), and the British mycologist Eugenia Potter (who happens to be written as the granddaughter of famous real-life author Beatrix Potter, best known for the Peter Rabbit series.)

This novel also packs a lot of atmospheric horror in just 150 pages. A note I would like to include here is that if you read the original Fall of the House of Usher, this novella ends almost the exact same way, so well it may be unsurprising to some, it also means it won’t matter which story you read first. Also, although this book is creepy, it takes a bit of time for anything shocking to actually happen outside of small hints. It even gets to the point in which the narration ends one of the chapters by stating that it was the last normal day in the story, which helps to build suspense but also proves there was too much setup beforehand. In terms of the horror, it does a great job of following Poe’s original work while also adding in new ideas. For starters, there are a lot of mushrooms. There’s no way I can talk about this novella without mentioning the amount of mushrooms there are in the story. There’s also other stuff, which I won’t reveal due to spoilers, but it all adds up to a fun, yet terrifying, experience. 

I also highly recommend that you don’t skip the author’s note. You should definitely wait until after you’ve finished the story to read it because it has a few tiny spoilers and is best read when you understand the story, but it gives a great, in-depth explanation into T. Kingfisher’s inspirations for the novella. Normally I skip, or at the very least skim author’s notes since I’m simply reading for enjoyment of the story, but this one is quite short and engaging.

This was shorter than my other reviews, but that’s just because this is a novella with about half the amount of pages then what I usually read, so there’s less for me to talk about. Overall, this is one of the best horror stories I’ve read, with a good balance of great characters and atmospheric settings. I am going to read the sequel, What Feasts at Night, soon, (this one seems to be less of a retelling and is simply a more original continuation of Easton’s story), and there’s a third novella, called What Stalks the Deep, releasing in the Fall, so I’m excited for that. I highly recommend What Moves The Dead to anyone who wants a quick, but deep read, or someone who likes retellings but wants a more unique inspiration. Also, read it if you like your horror stories with lots of fungi.